Kichijoji turns up at the top of every Tokyoite's where-would-you-live list, and the reason is this loop: a real park, a postwar drinking warren, and the kind of small shops that make a place worth staying in. Start and end at the station; it's a circle.
Begin in the Harmonica Yokocho — the yokocho, a tangle of tiny stalls and bars named for harmonica reeds because they're packed that tight. Then south into Inokashira Park, the long pond that west Tokyo treats as its garden: rowing boats, swan boats, and cherry blossom that turns the water pink in spring. Walk the full shore. The Benzaiten shrine sits on a spit into the water — the goddess is said to be jealous of couples who row here, a story everyone tells and nobody believes.
At the park's far edge is the Ghibli Museum, Miyazaki's building that looks drawn rather than built; you need a timed ticket bought ahead, but the rooftop robot is visible from the garden. Loop back north through the side streets — galleries, second-hand shops, a good kissaten — and the grid returns you to the station.
